Oxfordshire retirement homes approved for Shiburn Road

A total of 25 houses for "older people" will come to Shiburn Road in Watlington after South Oxfordshire District councillors gave the application the green light at a planning meeting on Tuesday (May 14).

The new-builds are to be opened up for people aged 55 and over in a town that has already been subject to other various transport and housing plans.

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This includes proposals to construct a relief road directing traffic away from the high street and development of 37 retirement apartments on the wider application site.

Speaking out at the meeting, Pyrton Parish council spokesman Colin Ludlow raised some of the authorities' objections with the application.

Proposed development. (Image: South Oxfordshire District Council.)

Mr Ludlow said: "Anger and resentment is felt by the community about this application.

"This has all provoked deep cynicism within the parish."

He went out to explain the community had initially agreed to set aside its neighbourhood plan believing the developer wished to build a care home but then were "outraged" to discover an application to build 34 houses was put forward in its place.

This was duly refused but Mr Ludlow added: "Now an application for 25 houses is being put forward with no provision of affordable housing.

"The care home was simply serving as a Trojan Horse."

Shiburn Road. (Image: Google Maps.)

The developer noted at the meeting there had not actually been many objections to the application including "no objection from any resident from Pyrton or Watlington."

He also added there was a "current need" for hundreds of new retirement homes in the district.

A councillor questioned how the accommodation for 'older people' was different to any other accommodation as there didn't appear to be "any provision for staff on site".

The developer said the site would include an estate manager and "in essence it's an older person's community" as well as the houses being "more suitable for older people".

Watlington High Street. (Image: Loraine Daniels.)

Councillors ultimately passed the application despite a couple objecting.

A developer planning paper says: "The density, design and layout of the scheme is appropriate to the site’s immediate context, having regard to its edge of settlement location, the character of Pyrton and surrounding historic and natural landscape, as well as the imminent development immediately west of the site which is due to deliver 100 new dwellings."

The retirement houses will have a maximum of two storeys and submitted plans also include details about communal facilities, landscaping and 28 car parking spaces.